The city of DeKalb faces environmental issues that much of America also deals with.

Global warming could eventually alter the climate in DeKalb, making it difficult to grow corn, said Paul Culhane, associate professor of public administration.

However, the city of DeKalb has more immediate concerns than the effects of global warming.

In DeKalb, the Citizens Environmental Commission, chaired by Julie Fauci, has been working for years at improving our local environment.

“Our goal is to study various issues on the environment- natural and indoor- and advise the city council,” Fauci said.

The Citizen’s Environmental Commission has focused on the issue of unnecessary mail.

“We’re trying to curtail junk mail in DeKalb because it usually ends up in the landfill,” Fauci said. “Forty percent of landfill is paper which could be recycled.”

There are things everyone can do to help, starting with recycling and being aware of how you’re getting around, Fauci said.

“All you have to do is melt that glass or turn that paper, and it can be used again,” she said. By walking or riding a bicycle instead of driving, everyone can do their part to help out, Fauci said.

Fauci also said to make sure house appliances are able to conserve energy and assure lights are shut off when not in use.

“Your electric bill can be lower,” she said. “And you could get in better shape too [by walking],” she said

DeKalb Mayor Greg Sparrow said the city, similar to others across the country, has to deal with the issue of brownfields.

“Brownfield” is a term used to describe abandoned sites that may have underground contamination, such as old gas station sites, Sparrow said.

A good example in DeKalb would be the old Mobil site at the corner of W. Hillcrest Drive and N. First Street, Sparrow said.

This property should have something on it, but the site still has a number of environmental issues, he said.

Recently, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan issued a call for help with the growing problem of pollution causing global warming.

“Who can claim we are doing enough,” Annan asked UN leaders at a recent conference.

The Environmental Protection Agency said that global temperature is estimated to increase between one and four and a half degrees in the next 50 years.

Assistant Metro Editor Andy McMurray contributed to this report.